Tire.



6. 1. REUTER.

l f me. EPELIQTIUN FILED APR. I4, 1915.

1,168,674. Patented 111118,1916.

. y $119 f@ 'if ....l lluummullmmnul un. '1 l E 16 UNITED STATES 'PATENTomer.

GEORGE J. BEUTEB, NEWARK, JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, OF FIVE-TWELFTHS T .ABRAHAM M. HERMAN, OF WEST ORANGE, NEWJERSEY, AND THREE- TWE'LFTHS T0 LG'UIS B.. FREUND, 0F NEWARK, NEW

Jnnsnr.

TIRE.

Application led April la, 1915. Serial No. 21,320.

To all whom it may concern Be it. known that LGnoRcn J. Buuren, acitizen of the United States, anda resident of Newark, county of Essex,and State of. New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Tires, of which the following is a specification.

lil

My invention relates to improvements' in tires, and particularly toautomobile tire casings which receive an inflated inner tube.

Among the objects of the invention are to so construct and to reinforcethe carcass or fabric containing portion of the tire casing as to makethe tire puncture proof by effectively preventing the casing and theinner tube contained therein 'from being pierced by sharpobjects such asnails and the like. v 1

A further object of the invention is to so reinforce and strengthen thecarcass of the tire as to distribute any localized strain V throughout aconsiderable portion of the carcass, thus preventing fabric breakagesand consequent blow-outs.

A further object of the invention consists in the provision of aconstruction whereby the advantages above referred tov may. be obtainedwithout any considerable increase in the weight or thickness of thetire, and to provide aconstruction in which the exterior of the carcassand the rubber envelop or tread` come directly together without anyintervening part or parts between them, thus avoiding all tendency toseparation of the Y rubber` envelop or tread from the casing.

l A further object ofthe invention consists Y in the provision ofreinforcing members en- `of the tire', as is usual.

Patented Jan. 1e, regie. A i

sists in the parts, improvements and combinations herein set forth andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, andwherein the .saine reference numerals are appliedto designate the sameparts uniformly througho ut, Figure l is a cross-sectional view of atire casing embodying my invention. F ig. 2 is a fragmentarycross-sectional view showing the preferred form, disposition andarrangement of the reinforcing members. 4Fig.

B'is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view on the line 3, Fia. 2,and Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view on the line @-4, Fig. l. y

ln said drawing the tire to which the invention is shown as applied isof the clencher or detachable clencher form, having beads 10, l0. Itmay, however, be embodied in casings of diiferent'fornisas, for example,the ordinary straight side tire casing.

The carcass or fabric containing portion of the tire is indicatedgenerally at ll and the rubber envelop or treadl portion by l2.

Such exterior rubber envelop making up the f rubber side walls and-treadportion may be of any convenient forni and may be in one,

two or more parts according to usual practice and preferably comprisesthe customary breaker strip 13.

The carcass ll, as is customary, comprises .a lnumber of alternatelayers of textile material such as fabric and rubber, the precise numberof such layers varying with the size In the drawing there are six suchlayers of fabric indicated i' by thereference numeral 14. According'tothe present invention, at the interior of the carcass, that is to say,between the innermost layers of fabric and in the neighborn hood of theouter or domed portion of the tire, the layers of rubber or rubbercomposition interposedbetween the successive layers 11 of fabric arethickened somewhat, and there is embedded therein and vulcanized theretoa number of flexible, preferably metallic perforated reinforcingmeinbersas l5, which serve'` the function of'armoring the tire, that is,preventing the passage of sharp objects therethrough, and also servetoreinforce and strengthen the carcass and to distribute anyeinitiallylocalized strain over a vconsiderable space l to Vthereb .prevent fabricbreakages and blow-outs. uch members 15 are' vpreferably of thin,flexible, springsteel' and are preferably several times as long as theyare wide and provided'with one or more-*transverse apertures 16throughwhich the rubber orA rubber composition may extend vto form rivetsv 16to securely anchor them, thuspermitting themrtobe firmly se 'cured inplace both by being v surrounded by tlierubber and having therivets.16"'of the .rubberl extending therethrough. Such refy inforces.15 'arearranged with their longest dimension running thelong way ofthetire and are'placedpreferably between `successive layers of fabric. soas to break joints both longitudinally and transversely, as shown inFigs; 1. and 4,. in such manner as that o bjects which may penetratethrough one layer kmissing the reinforces 15 therein as bypassingfbetwe'en two o r more such reinforces will b e' .'effectuallyprevented from pene# trating-through thev'carcass to reachy the innertube. by coming in contact 'with one vo r-the other ofthe lreinforcesinterposed 'between other layers of-fabric in the tire carcass.; Suchl-reinforces being.' of thin, resi- 'lient 'material, and preferably -ofmetal, and being jmuch longer than wide' afford a sub- 'stantialreinforcement for the -tire carcass While ,not interfering with theresiliency thereof,and serve very effectively to prevent sharpy objectspenetrating -the casing and causing a puncture of the Ainner tube, and

valso serve very 4effectively to distribute'over a very large area any`localized strains 4which may be: occasioned, f orv example, as'by the l.tire striking curbstones, rocks"and the like', and in this manner. suchlocal stresses and l .strains'being distributed by means of the'reinforcingplateswhi'ch lap over one another v.both longitudinallyandtransversely, upon vbeing transmitted to theinner surface of the tireand thev inner tube therein, are nov longer localized but spread outover a large extent, and thereby fabric breakages. which [may weaken thecarcass and cause blow' outsare effectively prevented. Being -oflspring-'lnaterial and non-rigid the reinforc- ''ing plates bendlreadily with the other parts fsa infr-ther tireand rather addtoitsresiliency instead of detr'acting therefrom as isfthe case withrigid reinforces.

.In' the form 'shown with six .layers of fabric, the inner layer. 19 andthe next to the inner'lavergof fabric 20 are arranged- 'with .theordinary thin. layer 21 of rnbber between. them, such as -is vprovidedin the building-.31p ofthev carcass of vany ordinary .'casing. Betweenthelfabric layer 20 and the succeeding layer 22 there is a thickenedlayer o f rubber 23 .preferably tapered down'at the sides of theA tire,as clearly shown in the cross-sectional view, to substantially the samethickness as the layer 21, and in'such layer 23 are embedded thereinforcing members 1 '5 arranged, as already set forth, with theirlonger dimension lengthwise of the tire and their shorterdimensiontransversev thereof, and spaced a .short distance from one another andpreferably arranged in rows vextending longitudinally `.andvtransversely of the tire, although they may be arranged in otherrelations. The reinforces 115 are preferably so treated and Ithecomposition in which they areem bedded isso formed as that thereinforces 1 5 are strongly vulcanized to the composition 1n' whichthey'are embedded. .This vul canizing of the rubber or. rubbercomposition to the metal,"however, is carried out in' accordance .withvwell known -practice and forms no part of the present invention.v

Next after the rubber layer 23 containing the reinforces 15 comes t-helayer of fabric 22 which is followed by a second layer of rubber 25containing1 reinforces ,arranged in fthe same manner, as alreadydescribed with reference tothe layer'23, but .with thereinforcingmembers-breaking joints with the reinforces in s aid'layer 23. Afterthis layer of rubber and 'metal reinforces 25 comes another layer offabric 24 and a succeeding 'layer of rubber 27 with metal reinforcesagain breaking joints with the last preceding layer, and finallya layerof fabric 28,

- 'the ordinary thin layer. of rubber 29 and The number of thelayer. offabric 30. layers of fabric'land the number of layers of rubbercontaining reinforcing material may be varied, but preferably there areas many Aas three layers of rubber containing reinforcinggnaterial andat least one additional layer of fabric,'.the layers of rubbercontaining vreinforcing material being prefs l erably arranged betweensucceeding. layers.

of fabric. The reinforces 15 'may beintroduced linto i the layers, as 23of rubber, .in any conven-v ient way. F orjexample, they may be placed`on one thin sheet -or strip of rubber composition' in proper positionand a second 'sheet placed .upon them when they have been put in placethereon 'and the strip thus made up used betweenV layers of fabric inbuilding up the carcass.

It will be seen an ordinary carcass on 4both its inner and outersurfaces, and. that 1t doesnotdfer from an. ordinarycarcass'whencompleted 1n that'a carcass made up. in. the manner-described will bealtogether like appearance, except that it is slightly thicker than theordinary carcass at thedoined part thereofigfedllellytaperingto eitherSiae; 1-3 0.

inea-sra and secured permanently thereto in the well known manner, sothat there is no tendency to separation between the tread and carcass,

asWould be the case were reinforcing inembers or parts interposedbetween the carcass and the rubber. envelop.

It will be seen that a tire casing constructed in accordance with myinvention involves numerous features of advantage, that it may `bereadily constructed and Without undue expense,'and that the advantageousfeatures of preventing punctures and distributing local strains areeffected Without any considerable increase in the Weight of the tire andWithout introducing any; features of construction, tlie presenceof WhichWould tend to causel separation of the tread from the tire carcass.

' It is to be understood that the particular form shown is forV thepurpose of illustration only and that modications therein and departurestherefrom may be resorted to within the scope of my claims by which myinvention is defined. l

Having thus described my invention, I claim: u

' 1; VIn a tire casing,a carcass forming the innermost portion andfoundation of the casing, said carcasscoinprising va plurality loflayers of fabric extendingto the edges ofthe casing and a plurality oflayers of rubber intermediate vthe layers cf fabric With-va layer ofthin flexible substantially rectangular metallic plates embedded thereinsaid plates being aperturedto permit the rubber to extendl therethroughand the plates in separate layers breaking joints with oneJv another,and an outer envelop comprising tread portion secured directly to thecarcass, substantially as set forth.

I 2. ln a tire casing, a carcassforming the innermost portion andfoundation of the casing, said carcass comprising a plurality of layersof fabric, layers of rubber therebetween and a layer of thin springmetallic plates in said rubber layers, said plates being spaced apartfrom one another and apertured, the rubber in Which they are embeddedpassing through said apertures and between said plates, said platesbeing several times as long as they are Wide and arranged With theirlesser dimension transversely of the tire, and an outer rubber envelopcomprising a. tread portion secured directly to the carcass,substantially as set forth.

3. In a tire casing, a carcass making up the innermost portion of thecasing and comprising a plurality of layers of fabric extending to theedges of the casing and layers of rubber therebetween, a plurality ofsaid layers of rubber` being thickened at the outer or tread portion andhaving separated metallic plates vvulcanized therein, the plates beingelongated longitudinally of the casing and being perforated and thevrubber in Which they [are 'embedded extending .through the perforationsto fornil holding rivets, the carcass soma-de up being thiclest at thetread portion and thinner at the sides andtoward the edges, and an.envelop comprising the vtread of the tire vulcanized direct to saidcarcass, substantially as set forth.

GEORGE J. REUTER.

